building your own speaker sets? (1 Viewer)

[Dustin Winfield]

I want to buy 2 woofers, 10" probly, 2 mids, 5 or 6", and 2 tweeters, and put them in two boxes. in each box would be the typical woofer, mid, and tweeter. now, the only place around here i can buy raw speakers is from radioshack.

are the speakers all 8 ohm? if they are, how would i go about wiring them together so they all can be hooked up to one terminal?? would i wire 2 in series and then parallel to the other to make a new 8 ohm load?

i am not sure of this. if anyone has done this please give me some advice. thanks

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Dustin,
Welcome to the HTF!
We have an entire area here on the HTF dedicated to DIY (do-it-yourself) projects- including DIY speaker building. Understand however that constructing decent DIY speakers is not as simple as just throwing drivers in a box... box design and dimensions along with speaker properties go a very long way to determining the output of the finished product.
In addition- having a multiband speaker with drivers for dedicated frequencies means crossovers, which have their own varying degrees of quality, design type and function- once again weighing heavily in the quality results of your finished speaker.
This is a little more complex process than throwing drivers in a box-- but far more rewarding than buying prefabricated speakers. There is a lot of terminology and concepts to grasp right off the bat-- but once you get the basics down, you'll find that speaker design is not rocket science.
I would suggest hanging out in the DIY area and checking out the discussions there and doing some searching. There are probably a couple books you could get from you local library as well (I'm sure someone will post some specific titles as suggestions).
As far as buying parts- I'm sure you'll get plenty of suggestions- but you might order a catalog from PARTS EXPRESS- as they are a favorite of speaker builders.
-Vince
PS: I have moved your post to the DIY area-- I'm sure you'll get several pieces of advice to start you on your journey!

 

[Rory Buszka]

Usually a good starting point for the DIY enthusiast is a DIY subwoofer. There are a myriad of available high-performance subwoofer drivers out there, and you don't have to fiddle with crossovers if you get a plate amplifier. And the Peerless XLS and Dayton Titanic blow anything you might find at Best Buy off the shelf.

 

[Dustin Winfield]

uh no, i just want 2 3-way speaker boxes. i already have a subwoofer

can ya read my thread and give me something that might help me?:rolleyes

 

[MichaelAngelo]

carpe noctum

 

[Tim Brewers]

oh-no, here we go again!
Brew

 

[Brian Bunge]

Dustin,
You don't want to just go throwing a bunch of drivers in a box and hook them up. You'll have to have some sort of crossover. And unless you're pretty adept at crossover design I think you'd me much better off starting with a quality kit speaker. Check out GR Research, Adire Audio, and Sound Clearing House for some very good quality kits in various price ranges.

 

[Dustin Winfield]

what are you guys, a whole bunch of bots that advertise for companies?? ?

i dont want to buy a kit, i know i dont just throw them in, all i want to know is: how do i wire them so the amp sees an 8 ohm load. can you help me on that question

 

[Dustin B]

Dustin,
We aren't bots advertising for companies. From what you have said we don't think you have a proper grasp of just what is involved in building a decent three way speaker (namely what a crossover is and just how important it is to how a speaker will sound). I don't know if I will ever attempt crossover design. Subs are one thing, crossover design is another.
Designing a speaker isn't something you can just decide to do once and expect to produce a decent result (especially with a three way design). If you expect to produce some decent speakers it should become a fairly serious hobby, as it requires experience to get it right (meaning start with some 2ways and don't expect your first few attempts to be that great; they are learning experiences). But if you are determined to design and build your own three way speakers I suggest you get this book and read it.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=500-034
It is considered one of, if not the best places to start. It will explain everything you need to know to get started. Including impedance compensation.
If you don't want to read this book I suggest it again, do yourself a favor and buy a kit.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Dustin,

You might consider cooling the attitude a little- people will be far less likely to offer you any advice at all if you continue with the insults and rolleyes nonsense. You'll find that this forum is not the typical newsgroup-style flame fest-- and your posts so far have been a bit out of character around here.

The issue of impendance will be based in large part on the wiring system you choose to employ. The immediate issue is whether you plan to use any type of crossover or not (to which you haven't really said)-- and I would strongly suggest that you do so. 3 drivers in a box all getting full range is not the best approach to putting together an even listenable speaker.

If you don't chose to use a crossover- the issue of parallel versus series wiring comes into play. You should be able to find more specific information on this online elsewhere if you're interested-- but the bottom line is parallel wiring will half the ohms (i.e. two 8 ohm drivers in parallel equals a 4 ohm load) and wiring in series will sum the ohms (i.e. two 8 ohm drivers in series will be seen as a 16 ohm load).

The wiring system and imp with a crossover is a bit more complicated- and while it will be similar to the above- it might depend on the crossover unit and wiring style employed.

But again- I would politely suggest considering the project a little more seriously- there is a whole lot more to this than what you've alluded to in your posts. The suggestion of speaker kits is a good one, if for no other reason it would beat the pee out of the stuff you mentioned considering from Radio Shack. If it's still not your desire to attempt anything more than 3 drivers in a box- you should check Parts Express, as I'm sure they'll have something decent in your price range.

enjoy

Vince

 

[Brian Bunge]

all i want to know is: how do i wire them so the amp sees an 8 ohm load. can you help me on that question

It's impossible to wire three 8 ohm drivers in any series/parallel combination that will result in an 8 ohm load. If you don't understand basic series/parallel wiring then you definitely are not ready for crossover design.

I have recommended (and always will) companies whose speakers I have built and feel are of great value. They will best anything that you could design with off the shelf Radio Shack drivers. Implying that I am in some way "advertising" for these companies is way out of line.

When you're capable of portraying a more mature attitude I'm sure people will be more than happy to help.

 

[Dustin Winfield]

you guys are uptight.

Only you can tell us this, but as a general answer about all speaker drivers in the world, the answer is no, not all drivers are rated for a nominal 8 ohm load.

i know that, what i was talking about is radioshack home speakers.

Sorry for the attitude guys, it's just, im used to people actually helping instead of just pushing me to read some book and buy some kit, if ya know what im gettin at.

why don't one of you explain how the impedances work with 3 8ohm speakers on a 3-way passive crossover? much help would be appreciated.

 

[GeorgeTW]

It is not impossible, just won't sound very good.

Let's not forget what Ohms law says about resistance in series and parallel. I realize we are talking impedance, but since resistors do not change any phase angles, let us just see what it would take to keep an 8-Ohm ciruit opposition.

Series resistance is additive. 8+8+8= 24 Ohms
Parallel is reciprocal. 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8=(Ans)~1 = 2.6 Ohms.

Either connect your speakers in parallel, then add a single 6 Ohm resistor in series with them, 2.6 + 6 = 8.6 Ohms.
or
connect your 3 speakers in series, then add 3 Sixteen Ohm resistors across their leads(in parallel).
8 + 16 = 24 Ohms
1/24 + 1/24 + 1/24 = (Ans)~1 = 8 Ohms

Can't say what it would sound like, but it would be electrically close. If you are not sure how to add resistors according to Ohms Law, stay far away from this.

Remember that Impedance changes with Frequency. The rating given by a manufacturer may be the particular value at a middle frequency (Example, 8 Ohms at 1 KHz), so please read the specs carefully if you decide to try it.

 

[MichaelAngelo]

 

[Dustin Winfield]

oh, and the speakers are for a music stereo, not dvd's and all that crap

 

[MichaelAngelo]

.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Then you must be used to asking much more simple questions (or at the very least wording them a bit more specifically than your initial post). Most people extend the courtesy that when they see someone attempting a project that won't work very well, the attempt to gently steer them in another direction-- if you find this offensive, so be it.

The gneral question you asked initially does not neatly fit into a 50 word answer on a discussion forum, or at least a good answer doesn't. If you're not interested in checking a book for an answer to a complex question- I'd suggest you're not very interested in finding a real answer.

However a basic answer has been offered to the basic element of your query: how to calculate impedance for a simple design to be electrically correct. Hopefully you find yourself satisfied and can move forth with your project.

But if you're considering adding a crossover to your design, undstand that the imp of the individual components will play a large factor in how the crossover works. With many traditional designs- the filter points are affected directly by the load they receive. Again, a complex concept that would be best explained by a book...

-Vince

PS: I'm noting by your [new and improved] signature that you still haven't grasped the very specific mood of this forum-- aggressive and attacking posts are simply NOT TOLERATED...we are all friends here. I will once again suggest that you lower the level of confrontation in your attitude, or I would imagine you'll find your stay here to be a short one.

 

[Dan Hine]

im used to people actually helping instead of just pushing me to read some book and buy some kit, if ya know what im gettin at.

I think that suggesting you read up on how a speaker works, how crossovers are created and experimenting first with some kits is VERY helpful. Not only would you learn something, but you'll not waste money on many bad designs (which is bound to happen if you don't know what makes a good design) and you'll have a quality product at the end of it.
Anyhow, having worked at RadioShack years ago I would mention that some of their drivers are 8ohm and some of them are 4ohm. Also, the reason why someone isn't just jumping in and telling you everything you need to know is because it is not an easy topic to explain through an internet based medium. In fact any one who writes about crossover design (like Vance Dickason in his Loudspeaker Design Cookbook) will tell you that it could take an entire book to explain everything crossover design. Also, it tends to be as much art as science. And art is very hard to explain in black and white.
I'm not, and I'm sure no one else is either, trying to dissuade you from building your own speakers. It is just that maybe you should take a moment to consider what you want to get out of it. If all you want to do is buy 6drivers (3 per cabinet) and wire 'em up then DIY audio is not for you. If you want to be patient, learn some basics, read some books, and make it an actual hobby then great! But that is really where you should start...not where you are presently.
Regards,
Dan Hine

 

[Dustin Winfield]

what effect would the resistors have on the music?

 

[MichaelAngelo]

What kind of music?